Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

BACHMANN WINS AMES STRAW POLL: House Tea Party Caucus founder Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) prevailed in Saturday’s straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Bachmann, who officially announced her presidential bid in June, raised $3.6 million as of June 30, the date of the most recent campaign finance filings with the Federal Election Commission. That sum includes $2 million that she transferred from her congressional campaign committee. Her victory in the Ames Straw Poll will likely boost her future fund-raising hauls.

During the 2010 election cycle, according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics, Bachmann raised more money than any other congressional candidate, raking in more than $13.5 million. Much of that war chest was fueled by small-dollar donors, who gave $200 or less — the FEC’s threshold for itemized disclosure. During the first weeks of her presidential campaign, Bachmann, again showed success at tapping these small-dollar donors: Two-thirds of the $1.6 million in new money she raised was from individuals who gave $200 or less, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.

Minnesotans, too, have played a central role in Bachmann’s presidential bid. As of June 30, Bachmann had raised $186,700 from residents of Minnesota — about 34 percent the money she has raised from individuals who have given her $200 or more. Fellow Minnesotan, Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday after his third place finish in the Ames Straw Poll, had raised about $1.1 million from Minnesotans, which represented about 28 percent of all the money he raised from people who gave him at least $200 as of June 30.

PERRY ENTERS PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Texas Gov. Rick Perry officially jumped in the GOP presidential race on Saturday with a speech to conservative activists at the RedState convention in South Carolina. “America is not broken; Washington, D.C., is broken,” Perry told a gathering. “I’ll promise you this,” he continued. “I’ll work every day to try to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as I can.” You can watch Perry’s full speech on YouTube here. You can also watch the first advertisement from Perry’s campaign on YouTube here.

Since becoming governor of Texas in 2000, Perry has raised more than $100 million. Perry has benefited from Texas’ lack of campaign contribution limits. In fact, eight contributors have donated more than $500,000 to Perry over the years and account for about 11 percent of all the money Perry has raised, according to the nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics. As he runs for president, Perry’s fund-raising machine will have to adapt to a landscape of limited contributions — donors cannot give more than $2,500 to Perry for use in the presidential primaries.

This year, Perry has also been serving as the chairman of the Republican Governors Association. According to a Center for Responsive Politics review of financial documents submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, the RGA reported raising $22.17 million between January and June. According to Politico, that sum is nearly $10 million more than fund-raising hauls during either the first half of 2007 or the first half of 2009.

Additionally, the Huffington Post notes, Perry’s nascent presidential campaign is being aided by seven supposedly independent super PACs. According to the Huffington Post, the activities of these groups are raising questions about illegal “collusion” and “coordination.”

CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS IN THE NEWS: In recent days, numerous media outlets have relied on the Center’s experts for analysis and data for stories. Among them:

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